MaruMA:Hajimari:Gwendal

Hajimari no Tabi Special Short Story: Gwendal Ending

Text: Tomo Takabayashi
Illustration: Temari Matsumoto

I knocked, but since there was no answer I pushed the door and it opened without resistance.

"Gwen?"

As soon as I peeked into the room, someone told me to approach with a look. Gwendal was standing by the window, in the room that was a little dark with the curtains halfway opened. He was holding something in his hands. That something, covered in white fur, was peeking from in between his long fingers.

"Give me your hand."

When he said this, I reflexively extended both hands. A small, light fur ball was placed on the palm of my hands. It was a kitten that hadn't opened its eyes yet. Its fur was as white as snow, and only the inside of its ears and nostrils were pink. Its paws had pads about the size of a grain of rice.

"Uwah."

"Hey, don't drop it."

In a bit of a hurry he put both hands on mine. Gwendal's fingers which are usually cold and dry, were now warm from holding a living creature.

"It's completely white. Is it an abandoned cat?"

"No, it's a wild cat that lives in these hills. As an adult, it's usually as big as a human child. Usually they're gray or brown and as adults they get spots on their backs, but... this is a sudden mutation, and I'm sure that the color of its fur will continue like this for the rest of its life. "

"It's small... and warm, ne?"

On top of that it was really soft. It felt like a squishy balloon with only a bit of water in it. That creature was sleeping with its back on my palm, moving its four legs and its long tail but unlike a normal cat it wasn't crying.

"This cat.... , is it okay?"

"It escaped a very dangerous situation. Surely it will grow at a normal rate, but there's nothing to be done, it was born prematurely early this morning. It still hasn't opened its eyes and it makes almost no sounds. "

"And its mother?""

He stared at me. Even if didn't say anything, I could guess the answer by the look on his eyes.

"Forget my question just now."

"Sure."

"But wild cats, unlike pets are wild animals, right? In that way, they're also protected by law right Gwen?"

"That depends on the circumstances."

After saying this, he growled looking puzzled. It seems as if he was thinking that the part about it being "wild" was a complicated issue.

"But, you know? Being the masked director of the group of animal lovers, of course I feel that we should return it to nature...."

'There's no reason for you to wear a mask to be the director of that group, right?' is what I was going to ask, but stopped myself before saying anything. People do things for a reason. And at the same time, I wanted to ask him: 'Are you a VEGETARIAN?', but I also stopped myself. I couldn't stand having those eyes fixed on me again. Surely there must be a point on which we agree.

"But, if it's so white, it would be hard for it to survive in the wild."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Rather than returning it to the forest for it to lose its life, it would be better for humans to raise it, even if it loses its instincts."

Gwendal took in a deep breath and sighed. If an outsiders would have seen him like that, he would think we're having a great problem at a national level. But as someone close to Lord von Voltaire, I know that he wouldn't sighed in such a way for a political problem.

"Then, let's raise it in the castle."

"Yeah, let's do that. Ah, it seems as if it's about to open its eyes. This child doesn't know its mother's face or warmth so it will believe that the first person it sees is their mother. For example, me..... or you."

"But you know? My dogs at home love my mom more because she was always the one taking care of them...."

"That's a 'training' problem. An animal may confuse its owner while it's being raised. But being an owner and being a mother are two different things. Even if an animal is completely devoted to its owner, it will never forget its parents and siblings until the day it dies. Even if they're seprarated for a long time, if they meet again, they'll realize who they are right away. That's the emotional bond between parent and child. "

"Is that so?"

I know the word imprinting (in Japanese) or IMPRINTING. They say that this is especially true for birds, but it also happens to other animals as well.

"So what do you think?"

Gwendal said this, while looking at the small, new-born creature over my shoulder.

"Will you become its mother?"

What about him? What kind of mother he would be to a child?

And then I started imagining cats and dogs surrounding him and then even goats and sheep, and I thought it was hilarious. Surely the wrinkles that are always there on his forehead would disappear in an instant.

And that's when I remembered why I had come to visit his room. The animal will think that the first person it sees is its mother, and even if they're separated for a long time, it will recognize its mother right away. Isn't that just perfect!?

"I'm gonna call Greta! Don't let the cat open its eyes until she gets here."

Carefully I placed the kitten in Gwendal's hands. And when I was about to leave the room, I heard an angry voice, saying 'What are you going to do?'.

"Is it about to open them!?"

"I said 'What are you going to do?', it's fine if it does its imprinting now, don't you think? Come on, let the kitten see you first, MAMA!, don't let it get the wrong impression.

You could cover its eyes with those big hands of yours, couldn't you? Like when you play peek-a-boo with them. You always do that, right? And as I was standing firm saying these words, he held the cat on his left hand, opened the fingers on his right hand and covered his face.

"L-like this you mean?"

"..... Gwen, why are you covering your own face?"

In that moment, Gwen, who always has a serious face, turned as red as a ripe tomato.

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